Weekend camping at Wing Hall

Happy Bank Holiday Monday! As its the last bank hol until Christmas (yes I did just say the C word) we decided in the week to go camping at nearby Wing Hall for a couple of nights. Wing Hall is only 15 minutes up the road and is an old country house with camping, farm shop & Cafe Bar. 

Close to Rutland Water we were placed in the Adults Only field (obviously don't know us very well!) and pitched up over looking the rolling hills towards Uppingham. 

In typical camping fashion Saturday night was a wash out, it poured all night! Luckily wellies were packed for having to walk across a field to the loo! The next day tho the sun shone and it was a glorious warm summers day giving me time to wander around to see the chickens which are allowed to roam where they like meaning you have to shoo them from your tent and be careful not to run one over! 

And my personal favourite the PIGS!!!!!

As it was a nice day we came back over to Stamford to look around the annual car show but I won't bore you with that now lol! Then it was back to camp to sit out in the evening with a bottle of wine

How did you all spend your weekend? 

Sketchy Scrappers: Bumper Cars

It's that time again... hang on its not quite the end of month I hear you cry! Well Sketchy Scrappers has a new home on Facebook as it seemed easier for most people to catch up with posts there thanks to smart phones, etc and with our new home comes a change in rules where we can upload as soon as we've finished out layouts rather than wait for the end of the month. 

This months sketch was set by Jo who chose this sketch from Shimelle Laine

I love this sketch and actually have it on my sketch Pinterest board somewhere. I sorted through my photos and made this layout

The photo was taken back in May on my first visit to Liberty. As we walked through the doors we were greeted by this display, I'm not fully sure what it was for but it was very cool! 

I'm still trying to use up most of my March/April Quirky Kit as I've got two more waiting to be used (ssh don't tell Ian lol!). I used Glitz, Alison Kreft & Dear Lizzy papers which were from the March/April kit, and gutted a sheet of Echo Park paper for the base. I admit I don't normally gut my paper but I thought the Echo Park would be ideal for matting so wanted to keep some! 

The March/April kit included some small tags which I wasn't sure how to use, but then I vaguely remembered seeing on the  Quirky Kits blog someone using them for either a title or date so I used this idea. I added some stars to them as I felt they were getting lost on the page. 

The top cluster is made up of a doily, a scrap of Glitz paper and MME Nostalgia die cut from my stash. 

Notebook Swap

A few weeks ago my scrappy friend Gemma organised a notebook swap for the Meadow Barners, where we brought a hardcover notebook and decorated it for someone else. 

My swappee was Fiona. This was the first notebook swap I'd taken part in so I had a lack of ideas in my tiny mind. But while I was rummaging through my die cuts box I came across some vintage, dressmaking embellishments, perfect for Fi who is a dab hand with the sewing machine. So I teamed them up with some Papermania paper from a retro range they released last year and made this

I also received a beautiful notebook from Gemma as part of the swap

I love it, it's so cute especially the little owl charm. My plan is to use this to jot down any scrappy or blog post ideas when I'm out and about, as I normally think of things and forget what they were by the time I get home lol! 

Liberty finds

Just a quick post to share some of the lovely things I spied in Liberty a couple of weeks ago. I love Liberty, the building is beautiful and the way everything is displayed you wouldn't think you were in a department store more like an old shop with different vendors selling you their wares. 

First we went into the chocolate room, it was a hard job but somebody had to it! Who knew chocolate could come so beautifully packaged, unfortunately no Oompa Loompas were working! 

 We then went up to Little Liberty the children's department. Liberty print is gorgeous but add it to a dress and a pair of frilly Knicks its adorable! 

My favourite areas in Liberty are the stationery room as I'm a sucker for stationery (unfortunately it was too crowded to get any pics), and the home department with lots of lovely china & crockery. 

Love these gothic style plates 

I had to buy a Votes for Women mug! 

Trophy head anyone! 

This is Love

Last month I set myself & my scrappy friend Gemma a challenge to make a layout using this sketch

And to use pink on the layout (well it is me setting the challenge after all lol) I printed a photo straight away but with the dramas of my car any chance of scrapping was a no no. But I eventually managed to get around to scrapping this week and made this layout

The photo is an Instagram I took during a walk a few weeks ago. For the pink element of the challenge I used an Elle's Studio paper for my background. The other papers are from my scraps. The title is made up of American Crafts Poolside Thickers and a cut apart from an Echo Park paper. As a last minute edition I added a heart button to the title just as I about to take a photo lol!

One little comment

I'm a little late this month, especially as the new sketch has gone live, but its the start of the month & Sketchy Scrappers time! The July Sketch was set by Gemma who chose this sketch

I loved this sketch and so after a delayed start made this layout

As I've said in an earlier post, I'm addicted to Instagram! So before I made some birthday cards for two friends I snapped a picture of the supplies I was going to use, some washi tape & some Amy Tangerine papers. I tagged Amy Tan in my photo and the next day she left a comment on my picture! Yes it's only a heart but it meant a lot to me! 

I thought it would be fitting to use the same Amy Tangerine papers in this layout! The background paper is one I've been saving for a while as I felt it would be a good background & is from ILS, the chevron paper is Studio Calico from my scraps. To keep with the Amy Tan theme I used some of her Thickers in the title with some Authentique letter stickers. Finally I added some sequins and a cork arrow pointing to the comment. 

London Calling: Part 2

Horse Guards leads straight onto St James's Park, a tranquil area with green grass & a lake with ducks and geese, where for a moment you forget you're in a busy city. 

By now we were needing a sit down and a bite to eat. So we brought an ice cream and sat ourselves on a deck chair for five minutes. Yes you heard me right a deck chair, there were deck chairs scattered throughout the park for tired tourists like us, how very British! 

Feeling slightly refreshed we set out onto the Mall where instead of the usual busy traffic we were greeted by hundreds of cyclists as some of the streets were closed for a Free Ride to encourage people to get on their bikes. It was so nice to see cyclists of all abilities taking part including young children on their BMX's doing their best Mark Cavendish impression, sprinting for the line! 

It was then a short walk down to see Her Maj for a cuppa tea at the Palace! Unfortionetly she forgot we were coming and had gone on her hols to Scotland so we had to stand at the gates with everyone else! 

After this we made our way through Green Park to the tube to go to Liberty! 

London Calling: Part 1

Yesterday Jojo & I jumped on the train and had a girlie day in London, not to shop but to see some of the sights. We didn't get as much done as we had planned but that gives us the excuse to go again! 

After arriving I took Jo over to St Pancras station which is beautiful with a lot les hustle & bustle as Kings Cross. 

Then we hoped on the tube to go to the London Eye. We ummed & ahhed whether to go on it but when we got there and saw the queue it quickly made up our mind! Note to self book tickets next time! 

Then a quick walk across London Bridge to Big Ben which chimed noon as we crossed

Rather than get on the tube we decided to explore the streets and find our way to  Buckingham Palace. Our walk took us through Horse guards which is beautiful. I felt sorry for the guard on horseback at the entrance as he was surrounded by tourists wanting their photo taking, he looked so nervous as his horse got more & more agitated. 

From here we entered St James's park which I'll share in another post. 

Ode to Susie Suu

Last night we said a fond farewell to a dear member of the Balchin-Grey family, Susie Suu left us for pastures new! 

After being with us for 8 years it was time for her to fly the nest but she left us with many happy memories. Memories of camping trips to Wales, weighted down with camping gear, climbing mountain roads in the rain only to come down the otherside to find random sheep in the road, driving the Snowdon road in thick fog where we could barely see in front of us (the scariest drive of my life!), being used to hold down the tent while we tried  to put it up in gale force winds. Memories of car booting, being filled to the rafters with bric a brac, squashing Jojo into the passenger seat while there was still room for her! Memories of trips to the seaside come rain or shine, huddled on the sea front eating fish & chips in the rain! 

You had to put up with a couple of dings thanks to other people's carelessness in carparks & with my bad singing along to the radio & Bon Jovi CDs. Farewell Susie Suu xx